Obsessive-compulsive disorder: 10 main signs

You must have heard of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, how to determine the presence of such a disorder in yourself? Where is the fine line between healthy pedantry, perfectionism, love of order, cleanliness, concern for health and an obsessive state? Estet-portal will help you figure this out: we will tell you when you should worry about your mental state and seek help from specialists. So, observe yourself, your habits and compare them with the list below. 

You can't part with hand sanitizer? Are your things organized in your closet? These habits may only be a reflection of your character or beliefs, but they sometimes cross an invisible line, turning into obsessive-compulsive disorder (or scientifically speaking, obsessive-compulsive disorder – OCD), which affects 1% of people.

How to distinguish a habit from a medical diagnosis that requires the help of a specialist? According to Professor Jeff Zymansky, the task is not an easy one. However, there are signs that directly point to a problem:

Washing your hands frequently

Among OCD sufferers, the obsessive desire to wash their hands or use antiseptic for this purpose is so common that they even created a separate category for them called "washers". The main reason for obsessive handwashing – fear of bacteria, rarely – the desire to protect others from their "impurity".

When to ask for help

If even after washing your hands you can't forget about the germs or are afraid that you might have picked up AIDS from a supermarket cart, the chances are that you – "washer" is high enough. Another clear sign –                             

Obsession with cleanliness

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder and a fanatical love of disinfection often go to the other extreme: they become obsessed with cleaning the house. The cause of such an obsessive state can also be germophobia or a sense of one's own "impurity". Although cleaning will ease the germ anxiety, this effect will not last long, and the need for another cleaning will become even stronger than before.

When to ask for help

If you spend several hours every day cleaning your house, the chances that you have obsessive-compulsive disorder are quite high. However, if you are satisfied with the cleaning process in an hour, the diagnosis becomes more difficult.

The habit of double-checking 

If you need to make sure that the iron is turned off and the front door – locked up 3-5-20 times, this is another common manifestation of OCD. Like other obsessive states, constant checks can arise from a deep sense of irresponsibility or fear for one's own safety.

When to ask for help

Check something important twice – quite reasonable. But when obsessive checks begin to interfere with your life (because of them you are late for important meetings and at the most inopportune moment break away from the workplace) or take on a ritual form that you are not able to break, you may have become a victim of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Inexplicable urge to count

Some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder attach great importance to counting. They literally count everything that catches their eye: the number of cookies or greens passing by. Often the reason for counting is superstition, the fear of failure if any action is not performed a certain "magical" number of times.

When to ask for help

"It all depends on the context," – explains Jeff Szymansky. – Does this behavior make sense for you? if you can't get rid of the numbers in your head and the constant counting, it's time to contact a specialist."

Perfectionism and pedantry

People who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder manage to bring the art of organization to excellence. All things on the table should lie flat, symmetrical and clear. Constantly.

When to ask for help

If you want to keep your desk clean and organized, it may make your job easier, and you do it purely out of a perfectly normal need for order. People who suffer from OCD may not need it at all and still organize the surrounding reality, which simply starts to scare them otherwise.

Fear of trouble

Everyone has anxious thoughts about possible trouble or violence. And the more we try not to think about them, the more insistently they spin in our heads. But in people with OCD, this fear is taken to extremes, and the troubles that have occurred cause an overly violent reaction.

When to ask for help

It is important to establish boundaries between recurrent unpleasant thoughts and excessive experiences. If for fear of being robbed you avoid walking in the park or call your loved one ten times a day to inquire about their health, you most likely suffer from OCD.

Obsessive thoughts and ideas of a sexual nature

Like the fear of violence, obsessional syndrome often has obsessive thoughts about obscene behavior or taboo desires. Individuals with OCD unwillingly imagine being harassed by co-workers or strangers, and even begin to question their sexual orientation.

When to ask for help

"Most people will tell you: No, I don't want to do this at all, because it doesn't even reflect my inner beliefs, – thinks Szymanski. – But a person with OCD will put it differently: Such thoughts are disgusting, they do not come to anyone but me, what will they think of me now ?!" An alarming sign if these thoughts change a person's behavior (he begins to avoid gay acquaintances and people that appear in his fantasies.

Distorted Perception of Relationships

People with OCD have an obsessive tendency to analyze relationships with loved ones, friends, colleagues, and partners. For example, they are able to analyze and worry for a particularly long time whether the incorrect phrase they uttered became the reason for the detachment of a colleague, and misunderstanding – a reason to part with their partner. Such a state can significantly increase the sense of responsibility and the difficulty of perceiving incomprehensible situations.

When to ask for help

A breakup with a loved one can get stuck in your head, and there's nothing surprising about it. However, if over time such thoughts grow like a snowball, developing into a complete loss of self-confidence, you need to contact a specialist.

Search for like-minded people

OCD sufferers often try to alleviate their own anxiety with support from family and friends. If, for example, they are afraid to goof off at a birthday party, they ask their friends to “rehearse” a possible situation in advance, and more than once.

When to ask for help

Reaching out to friends for help – is a completely normal part of friendship, however if you catch yourself asking the same question over and over again, or your friends tell you this themselves, it can signal  OCD . In addition, approval and support from loved ones can only worsen the manifestation of the obsessive state. It's time to seek professional help.

Pickiness about one's own appearance

Dysmorphophobia – the belief that there is a flaw in one's appearance – often accompanies OCD, forcing people to compulsively and meticulously evaluate parts of their body that seem ugly to them: skin, hair, nose, skin (it is important to make a reservation : dysmorphophobes do not focus on their own weight).

When to ask for help

It's okay not to admire some part of your own body. Another situation is if you spend most of your time looking at this place in the mirror and criticizing it.